Minute Meditations

There is a patriotic creed that has recently been printed in several national magazines including the Reader’s Digest which states in part, ”I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid, to think and act for myself, to enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, this I have done.”

These thoughts are accepted and endorsed by the nation as a whole despite the fact they are condemned by God and exposed in our Bibles as sin. The creed states that ”it is our heritage to stand erect and proud,” while God states that one of the seven things He hates is a ”proud look” and Peter tells us that ”God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.” The prophet Isaiah declared, ”For the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty and upon every one that is lifted up and he shall be brought low.”

The creed states ”to enjoy the benefit of my creation... and to say, this I have done.” Compare this to the utterance of the wicked king Nebuchadnezzar who said, ”Is not this great Babylon that I have built... by the might of my power and for the honor of my majesty?” God was displeased with this arrogant statement as He must be with all who make similar statements and while these words were still in the king’s mouth a voice from heaven declared, ”the kingdom is departed from thee.” Immediately he became insane and ate grass as an ox until he came to realize and admit ”Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.”

The creed states, ”I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat,” yet Paul says ”as I live saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue confess to God” and again ”at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow.” Isaiah tells us ”the lofty looks of man shall be humbled and the haughtiness of men shall be bowed down and the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.” It seems incredible that a nation that claims to be Christian and God fearing can at the same time endorse a creed that exalts man and ignores God. True religion exalts God and humbles man. Jesus taught ”for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” The day is coming when the meek shall inherit the earth and all who are proud and lofty shall be brought low.

Let us be wise and reject man’s creed and instead adopt David’s for he declared ”the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”